So this just occurred to me. ... Write a unique bitcoin private key (base58 encoded, QR code, or whatever you feel like) on the physical bank notes that come your way. When you pass them on, whoever is the first to actually look at them and do something with the private key will get to claim some bitcoins. It will be an adventure for each and every one of the people who receive them and have any initiative to research about the bitcoin thing. Some of them may receive a note that has already had the coins redeemed -- but going through the process of trying to redeem them in the first place would cause them to go down the rabbit hole.

A variation on this idea would be to run a web service and put short unique urls on the bank notes, where the web service would reveal the private keys and whether/when the bitcoins attached to them had been redeemed. I love this idea so much, I think I'm going to get my big bills converted into fives and write a script or something. I dont have a printer so I'd have to write on the notes by hand, short custom URLs will be easier than long base58 private keys, but doing the full private key info would be a purist approach and wonderfully cryptic to anyone who might receive them.

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Except for the part that its illegal to purposely damage currency (USD anyway) I don't think its very enforced, unless you are melting down pennies or something like that.

"Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

Yes I do see the "Intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued" but I'm sure if caught somehow, at the very least it would be annoying to have to explain to the police what you were doing.

Except for the part that its illegal to purposely damage currency (USD anyway) I don't think its very enforced, unless you are melting down pennies or something like that.

"Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

Yes I do see the "Intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued" but I'm sure if caught somehow, at the very least it would be annoying to have to explain to the police what you were doing.

Na, I and others have been adding our personal flair and propaganda to bank notes for years. I pass them all the time, usually with messages about how nationalism and central banking are asshat ideas. Or how "this shitty note is not a bitcoin". Often the queen has a speech bubble proclaiming "I sniff my own stinkies", and other childishly fun things.

Lol I'd write on money in front of a cop, and challenge in court any charges, all while using it as a platform to promote Bitcoin. You can pretty much do anything you want to the notes as long as you dont intend to make them unspendable. And most people don't inspect them too closely when you pass them anyway. The ONE time someone looked funny at one of my banknotes, I just said "it was like that when I got it" and passed it along easily enough.

Except for the part that its illegal to purposely damage currency (USD anyway) I don't think its very enforced, unless you are melting down pennies or something like that.

"Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

Yes I do see the "Intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued" but I'm sure if caught somehow, at the very least it would be annoying to have to explain to the police what you were doing.

"Whoever designs, engraves, prints, makes, or executes, or utters, issues, distributes, circulates, or uses any business or professional card, notice, placard, circular, handbill, or advertisement in the likeness or similitude of any obligation or security of the United States issued under or authorized by any Act of Congress or writes, prints, or otherwise impresses upon or attaches to any such instrument, obligation, or security, or any coin of the United States, any business or professional card, notice, or advertisement, or any notice or advertisement whatever, shall be fined under this title. Nothing in this section applies to evidence of postage payment approved by the United States Postal Service."

The Secret Service got pissy at Where's George over selling rubber stamps that let you stamp wheresgeorge.com on bills.So, if anything, they wouldn't care unless somebody started selling tools to mark the currency and promote Bitcoin.But other than that, they generally leave Where's George alone 'cuz it's not a high priority.